No failure to communicate: College dept. named best in country

On Friday, Nov. 22, the College was honored with the Rex Mix Program of Excellence Award for the best communication studies undergraduate program in the United States.

Rex Mix Program recognizes the College. (tcnj.edu)

In a press release posted on the communication studies department website on Friday, Dec. 6, the department stated that the award was given to Professor John C. Pollock by Professor Armeda Reitzel, the vice chair of the Undergraduate College and University Section (UCUS) of the National Communication Association (NCA) at the organization’s annual conference. Professor Pollock, the former chair of the communication studies department, had written the winning award application.

“The College of New Jersey merits the award because it demonstrated pronounced ‘markers of department excellence’ highlighting curriculum, faculty-student engagement, student academic and professional success and faculty commitment,” Reitzel said.

The press release stated that Professor Reitzel expressed admiration for the achievements of seven-faculty program. The program counts among its students 272 majors, nine secondary majors, 37 first minors and three second minors, for a total of 321 total communication studies students.

“We are delighted that our commitment to student-faculty engagement and the empowering results of that commitment has been recognized at the national level,” department chair Lorna Johnson said in the press release. “We are grateful for the encouragement offered by this award.”

Paul D’Angelo, associate professor of mass communication at the College, expressed what he felt the award meant as a professor within the school.